Robert,
Looking forward to seeing a TON of responses to this one! Like you, I am a 57 year old male. Afib started July 2012, had my ablation 2 January 2013. No drugs since 1 July. I would say I haven't returned to my pre-afib form, but that was mainly due to my fear. I didn't go back to exercising, so have developed Metabolic Syndrome. People, do NOT let this happen to you! So now I am back to exercising an hour a day BECAUSE of the fear of what will happen if I don't get that syndrome taken care of! But, still hoping for a full success on the ablation..no afib since the ablation.

Bill

In Response:
0. Female 79
1. None
2. Success for me is continuing with Warfarin. Avoiding all Medications. Paying attention to my known AF triggers. Avoiding them or finding ways I can modify them so they don't trigger AF.
3. Since being diagnosed with paroxysmal AF in July 2010 my longest run w/o AF is approx. 3 weeks. In AF my symptoms are mild and not debilitating. Have always eventually converted to NSR on my own.
4.N/A
5. 0 In ER when diagnosed I Self converted before being admitted.
6. Outcome - At 79 just hopefully surviving another 10 years, (according to the actuary tables) and living with AF as is. Acceptance becomes easier with age. At least for me it has.

Comments - I've been very fortunate not to have had any health issues until in my 70's. It's been a great ride!
I truly feel for all of you, so much younger, with families, jobs etc. having to deal with AF plus other health issues.

Robert- No magic ball. But I wish I did a magic wand able to bring NSR to all.

Annette

0. Male/Female Age (me M,64)
1. How may procedures have you had? (0)
2. Were they successful? How do you define success? Cured, pill-in-a-pocket, controlled on meds... RATE CONTROL BYSTOLIC (BETABLOCKER) PRADAXA SEEMS TO BE WORKING
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? 62 YEARS TILL I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PERSISTENT AFIB 2 1/2 YEARS AGO. MAYBE I WAS ASYMPTOMATIC PAROXYSMAL BEFORE THAT BUT I DON'T KNOW.
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)? NA
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? NONE
6. What do you think your outcome is/will be? WILL LIVE TO 100 AFTER BEING CURED BY NUCLEAR ABLATION BY DR ANDREA NATALE'S GRANDSON/GRANDDAUGHTER)


:-)

petey

- 50 something male
- 1 ablation (2 weeks ago so jury is still out
- Had recurring AFIB for 25 years starting with one or two episodes a year to recently 2 a month
- Rate control drugs did not work
- Never had to be cardioverted even with longest bout of 2 weeks - self converted by running on 2 consecutive days, 6 miles each (almost always converted me)
- Went a year without afib once in last 25 years since it started
- Never been hospitalized for a episode, just would take thinner during them knowing it would eventually go away
- My outcome odds are 50-50 I think because i waited so long to have the ablation (was chicken!) and i was heavy into endurance sport/running for years which makes you very prone to issues - but SICK of afib so had the ablation to try to get my life back - I was on my way to persistance so had to do something and I didn't want to take the drugs. My EP of course feels I have at least an 80% chance of beating it

I am also interested in who has seen good success. If I get 2 years from this, its cool with me

Here you go Robert:

0. Male early 50s.
1. None.
2. Ditto on above. However I am on a med. regime of Metoprolol , Aspirin and a PIP of Flecainide.
3. 12 months.
4. Diagnosed in May of 2010.
5. Hospitalized 4 times with 3 additional ER visits whereas I was released and not admitted at those times.
6. TBD.

- Thomas

Female, 62
Procedures: 1 (in 2007)
Successful: So far, yes. Meds are beta blocker (Bystolic) PIP is Flecainide
Longest Run: 6 YEARS!!! (Woo hoo!)
Afib Gone?: A few flutters occasionally, that's about it.
Hospitalized: No
Outcome: Nothing is certain, but keeping my fingers crossed. I asked my EP at last visit if this was going to last...he said the same...there are no guarantees.

What I'm wondering is... can i do a quick poll here?
0. Male/Female Age (me M,54) disgonesed in 2011
1. How may procedures have you had? 0
2. Were they successful? How do you define success? -in-a-pocket, controlled on meds... warafin , metropol ,amoldypine
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? 54
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)? not me
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? none .
6. What do you think your outcome is/will be on blood thinners

in my case the only thing i feel is palpitations sometimes in night , i guess may be sleeping too close to my wife .i have what they call permanent afib ,may be i had before .the cause in my case was sleep apnea and i made a mistake of joining a cross fit class that trigered it .too much intense workout not good for me . i now do some walking on treadmill and that is about all ,i also have Hypertention and iam also pre diabetic .

hope this helps .

Yay Svenska! We are ALL hoping for that kind of ablation success! 6 years and counting! I will take that in a heartbeat! LOL!

Bill

Hi Robert,

I am F, 71. I was diagnosed 25 mos. ago. I have Paroxysmal afib. I have had no procedures, nor have I been hospitalized for it.
I take Metoprolol or Rythmol for PIP.
It is a albatross for me, I am not sure what to expect next.

My Crystal ball says your ablation is successful this time. You will have a long afib free happy life~

What I'm wondering is... can i do a quick poll here?
0. Male/Female Age (female-- and sorry, a woman never tells her age! :) )
1. How may procedures have you had? (0)
2. Were they successful? How do you define success? (Pill in pocket... no I don't consider that successful. Success would be complete elimination of afib episodes.)
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? (ten years)
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (raising hand.. me! but I got my second episode ten years after the first.. then the third one one-and-a-half years later.)
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? (three times over 11 and a half years)
6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be? (I have no clue. I get weeks where I have horrible episodes of PACs and PVCs-- like two or more a minute for days and weeks at a time.. and then times, like now, that I have no problem at all. I just never know when it's going to happen again.)

I am possibly too early I my diagnosis to be of help... but
What I'm wondering is... can i do a quick poll here?
0. Male/Female Age (Female, 58)
1. How may procedures have you had? (2 - I had an Atrial Fibrillation Ablation but a day later developed an Atrial Flutter. I couldn't walk or even shower without fear of my HR and was in hospital. Had an Atrial Flutter Ablation within that same week and have now been home 4.5weeks and am up to 2.8kms per day with some stairs. I am taking it SLOWLY, I want this to work.)
2. Were they successful? How do you define success? Cured, pill-in-a-pocket, controlled on meds... (Am on low medication, they tell me, have to see specialist in 3 weeks. All being well he will wean me of tablets.) HERE'S HOPING!
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? Diagnosis only 19.06.2013 and am now at 4.5 weeks.
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)?
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? For example, I've been hospitalized 7 times over 30 months. Within 3 weeks I had to go to Emergency 5 times and was admitted on 4 of them.
6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be? Too scared to consider this question.

Throw in a few more comments/insights if you'd like.

Why do I want to know? Maybe I'm looking for my own correlation. I expect some to report "1 procedure and mostly cured" or "no procedures, on MEDS, no problems", or like me "3 procedures and future outlook uncertain."

If you have the crystal ball, look into it and let me now what my future holds!
Don't have one, but if they could rid the world of A.F. I wouldn't mind at all.

What I'm wondering is... can i do a quick poll here?
0. Male 55
1. 1 Pulmonary Vein Isolation Ablation
2. My ablation was as successful as I think possible. I would define success as a marked improvement in quality of life. I've been in perfect rhythm for one year now. My quality of life has improved beyond expectation. I don't expect this will be the case forever but having a year of feeling normal means I've already won. Before ablation I was taking a beta blocker, 325mg aspirin. Tried anti arrhythmic medication with poor response. After ablation, I take only Pradaxa.
3. I've had Afib(or PACs) for about 20 years, starting in my late 30s. I was diagnosed just over 17 1/2 years ago? Before ablation I was having episodes that would last 1-2 days with short interval of normal rhythm followed by various length episodes of more Afib. Completely unpredictable with no identifiable triggers.
4. My Afib never rested during all the years I struggled with it. If I would go a day or two I would be dumbfounded.
5. I was never hospitalized, nor was I ever cardioverted. I did suffer a TIA prior to ablation which landed me in the ER.
6. I'm cautiously optimistic about my outcome but my ablation gave me hope that things can be better for those of us who were/are very symptomatic.

0. Female 38 got afib at 36 and Atach at 37
1. 2 ablations, 3 shocks of paddle for cardioversion
2. No to all of the above except my 2nd ablation was on June 19, 2013 so still determining. The first 6 weeks were rough. My heart was extremely pissed! Lol. I even had congestive heart failure during week 5. Now I am on Multaq and Metaprolol. Afib and atach has lessened but I still have some episodes a few tomes a week.
3. Longest time without afib after being diagnosed is 6 weeks.
4. Nope I'm hoping after this surgery!
5. Since Oct 2011 I have been to Er , hospitalized & surgery 21 times.
6. Although mine seems to be a serious case of Afib and Atach I am hopeful this last ablation will be successful!

Me, F, 65
Had 1 procedure
Unsuccessful, now on Pradaxa, Metoprolol and Flecainide. The Flecainide seems to be working, I began it in March and have not had an episode since, so 5 months
I was hospitalized 2 times in 4 months before my ablation and after a diagnosis, have had afib since I was 60, probably brought on by age, genetics and being an endurance athlete
Post ablation and pre flecainide I was having episodes every second day
My outcome? On a wait list for a second ablation, but satisfied with meds keeping afib at bay--for now
I don't have a crystal ball and with afib in the mix, anyone's crystal ball is cloudy. I wish you all the best.

0. Male/Female Age ~ Female (early 60's)
1. How may procedures have you had? None
2. Were they successful? How do you define success?Cardizem once a day and aspirin
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? 4 years (knock on wood, still holding strong)
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE So far 4 years and hope I don't jink myself
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? Twice for the 2 times I had Afib, converted on my own within a hour or two.
6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be? I have a positive outlook, on the other hand, if for some reason it does come back, I would consider an ablation. Because many baby boomers are now developing Afib, I think there's a definite cure in the near future.

If I had a crystal ball, I would have won the PowerBall! Seriously, I think there has been much progress made with regard to meds and ablations. Hopefully one day Afib will be obsolete and easily cured...not must medicated and on blood thinners.